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August Rains

Roscoe in Years Gone By

(from The Abilene Reporter, November 26, 1909)

LOCAL TEACHERS IN ROSCOE TODAY-----WHERE TEXAS & PACIFIC TEACHERS ASSOCIATION IS IN A 2 DAYS’ SESSION-----FIVE WILL BE ON PROGRAM-----Attendance Likely to Reach 250, with Teachers from Every Point of Good Size in Central West Texas-----

Some twenty-five, possibly thirty, instructors in the various schools of Abilene boarded the early morning westbound train today for Roscoe, where the Texas & Pacific Teachers’ Association convened this morning at nine o’clock. The Abilene delegation will be absent from the city until Saturday night at midnight. They were joined here by teachers from the rural communities.

Five local instructors will participate in the program. Superintendent J. H. Burnett will deliver an address on “Some difficulties that a superintendent has to solve.” Principal E. B. Looney of the High School will discuss Latin in the High School. Mrs. E. W. Vawter will talk on how to deal with tardiness, the Round Table will be discussed by Miss Anna Evans, while Mrs. Nannie E. Avriett will discuss nature study in the second grade.

The large attendance of teachers may be explained by the fact that the school board granted the teachers of the public schools a holiday that they might attend. This is rather an unprecedented step and shows that the board is determined that Abilene shall not only not be behind in such matters, but shall actually take the initiative.

The Texas & Pacific, Roscoe Snyder & Pacific, and Orient roads granted a fare of one and a third for the association. Sweetwater entertained all teachers who came over the Orient and waited there for connections. It is estimated that the total attendance of teachers will be between two hundred and two hundred and fifty teachers from such points as Abilene, Merkel, Trent, Sweetwater, Cisco, Baird, Big Springs, Midland, Roby, Stanton, Colorado City, Haskell, Snyder, and Anson.

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Plowboy Football

Local Wildlife

This was the first time I'd seen my garden buddy since early spring..

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Felony Arrests Made in Recent Burglaries

Roscoe Police Chief Felix Pantoja reports to the City Council.

Felony arrests have been made and charges filed in a recent spate of burglaries in and around Roscoe. Charged with burglary and organized criminal activity are the following, all from Roscoe:

Luke Clark Ramiro Leyba Jeremy Solano One unnamed minor

The burglaries in question occurred in two residences in the 900 block of Bois d’Arc Street, one in the 300 block of Pecan, one on Ash, and one on FM 608 south of Roscoe. The suspects are currently free on $25,000 bond and awaiting trial.

According to Steven Spencer, the Roscoe Police Officer in charge of the investigation, Roscoe Police recovered the majority of the stolen items after a consensual search of a local residence, while the Nolan County Sheriff’s Department located others from the burglary on FM 608.

Four suspects have also been charged in three break-ins at RISD over the past three months, and information received during the investigation of the school break-ins led to identification of the individuals involved in the residential burglaries.

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CITY COUNCIL HEARS PUBLIC WORKS UPDATES, PROPOSAL FOR USE OF CITY LAND

Supt. Kim Alexander addresses the City Council at last night's meeting.

Roscoe’s City Council was updated on the current situation regarding a number of public works, and several action items were addressed at last night’s City Council meeting, including a request from School Superintendent Kim Alexander to use City land at the new wastewater treatment facility for STEM research.

Roscoe School
Superintendent Kim Alexander presented a request from RISD STEM Research
and Alexander Ag to use the 128 acres of City-owned land around the new
wastewater facility south of town for RISD STEM research. The Council
liked the idea but after some discussion agreed to allow proposals from
others for contracts for use of the land. These proposals would have
to conform to required specifications of the TCEQ (Texas Commission for
Environmental Quality) and also meet STEM research needs. More
information on this will be forthcoming soon with specified requirements
available at City Hall.

City Manager Cody Thompson informed the Council on the progress of a number of City projects now underway. Work on the Young Farm Estates has recently been delayed but should begin again next week. Randall Smith Construction has been hired to install the water and sewer line as well as the streets, curbs, and gutters. They hope to have everything done by June.

Young Farm Estates owner Carl Childers has signed a purchase contract with a Dallas company for a three-acre tract adjacent to and just north of Smartt LLC next to US 84. The company plans a building and development similar to the Smartt property.

The City’s monthly meeting with the contractors for the water-treatment plant was held on Tuesday, February 4. The majority of the work will begin around mid-March, and the plant is still projected to be operational sometime in August.

Proposed water improvements are being worked on now with boring under the railroads at Cypress and Front Streets. The plan is to prevent possible catastrophic problems at the railroad crossing and to tie the new development into the existing city water system.

Ricky Bowman, CPA for the City of Roscoe, presented the 2013 audit, which the Council approved, and Roscoe Police Chief Felix Pantoja delivered the Police Report for January.

The Council approved an election for Saturday, May 10, to re-authorize the City’s sales tax and to elect two City Council members, as the terms of Helen Perry and Virgil Pruitt are expiring. During the early voting period, two days, May 5 and 6, will be open for voters from 7am to 7pm.

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FIRE DESTROYS HOME AT 200 BOIS D’ARC ST.

The remains of the house at 200 Bois d'Arc St.

The brick house at 200 Bois d’Arc Street, just south of the Community Center parking lot, was a total loss after a fire broke out around two o’clock last Wednesday morning. Fortunately, no one was injured except for some pets that didn’t make it out.

The Roscoe Volunteer Fire Department received a call at 2:25am, but by the time the fireman got there, the house was already too far gone to save. The Sweetwater Fire Department also assisted in fighting the blaze.

The house was the former residence of the Russell Haney family and currently lived in on a rent-to-buy basis by a local family. According to Fire Chief Gary Armstrong, the fire, caused most likely by faulty electrical wiring in the attic, burned for a while before the inhabitants became aware of it.

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PLOWBOYS DOWN HERMLEIGH, WESTBROOK; PLAYOFFS NEXT

This past week, the Plowboys finished their district schedule with two victories, one over the Hermleigh Cardinals in Roscoe on Friday and the other over the Westbrook Wildcats in Westbrook on Monday. The victories put them into the playoffs, but they still don't know whom they'll play or when.

Last night, Highland was scheduled to play Ira, but the game was postponed until tomorrow night because of the weather. If Highland wins that game, they will finish in sole possession of second place behind Ira, and the Plowboys will wind up in third. However, if Ira wins, then both the Hornets and Plowboys will finish district play with identical 7-3 records and 1-1 head to head. In that case, the teams' coaches will have to come up with a way of determining who gets the second-place seeding in the playoffs. No decision has been made yet on how that would be done, but whatever happens, the Plowboys will be playing either Garden City or Bronte early next week.

The final score of the Hermleigh game on Friday was 51-42. At the end of the first quarter Roscoe led by one, 15-14, and by halftime they were ahead 27-19. The Cardinals pulled to within one at the end of three, 34-33, but the Plowboys finished strong to win by nine, 51-42.

Then on Monday evening in Westbrook, the Plowboys won 67-43. The score was tied 14-14 at the end of one, was 37-20 Roscoe at halftime, and 44-32 Roscoe at the end of three.

Jesus Leanos once again led the Plowboys in scoring with 24 points, followed closely by his brother Javier with 23. Lavalais made 5, Shelton Toliver 4, Dillon Freeman 4, Villa 2, and Chase Cathey 2.

Jesus Leanos was ranked fourth in the Big Country’s Top Ten Players of the Week for last week by the Abilene Reporter-News. He was cited for his 29 points and 10 rebounds against Hermleigh and his 18 points and 5 rebounds against Loraine.

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WEATHER REPORT

Freezing fog covered all the town's trees with ice.

What another week it’s been for the weather with a little bit of everything—temperatures bouncing back and forth, blustery winds followed by days of complete calm, clear skies and freezing fog—in short, a little bit of everything except rain or appreciable precipitation.

The high temperature on Thursday was only 16°F and the low was 11°, but with sustained high winds of 21mph and gusts up to 29, the wind chill stayed at down around zero and even dipped below it at times. It truly was one of those days that you don’t go outside unless you have to. On Friday, after a 15° sunrise, the sun came out and the afternoon was beautiful at 40°.

Saturday was even better with sunshine and a high of 66°. Cody Thompson caught a break at the Lumberyard, since the weather was very nice Saturday evening, and a large crowd showed up for an evening of Uncle Lucius and his band on the outdoor stage. People were tired of being cooped up all week, and Uncle Lucius was a good cure for cabin fever.

Sunday was also nice, up until about mid-afternoon when another cold front blew in. I went for a walk out to Stripes station, and everything was fine with warm breezes and sunshine, temperature in the mid-sixties. But when I got to Stripes, Garland Haygood, Darrell Aljoe, and Willard McFaul were in there drinking coffee, so I sat down and talked with them for a while, maybe twenty or thirty minutes. When I went back outside to walk home, the wind was howling out of the northeast, and it was cold—and in almost no time we were back into winter again.

Then, the wind died down that evening and we had a thick, freezing fog up until this morning. Temperatures seemed to be stuck in the mid-twenties, and everything was covered with a thin sheet of ice. Vehicles were running off the roads because of the black ice, and there were numerous wrecks. The entire Big Country was under a winter weather advisory, and schools were closed or had delayed openings, and events of all kinds were postponed.

However, things are now looking up once again. This morning the sun is out, the fog is gone, and forecasters tell us it will get up into the mid-fifties this afternoon. The warming trend will continue tomorrow with sunshine and a high in the seventies with an outlook for more of the same through the weekend. Sunday’s forecast is for a high in the lower eighties with a low in the fifties. Maybe spring is on the way after all.